Saturday, July 28, 2012
A promotion of sorts...
Hello all,
Well another exciting week in the records books. My new boss is getting settled and las week was my first full week with him. I like him a lot and he is everything the last guy wasn't. Morale is high and everyone is upbeat.
The last guy made a real mess with our organizational chart and the new guy is making inroads to fixing it. One of his fixes was to but the people with the proper rank and experience in some of the key billets. I have been promoted (not in rank but position) and am now serving as the Future Operations Officer, one of the key billets within our plans & ops division. In future ops section is exercises, theater security cooperation (like small scale exercises), and civil affairs (military people who deal with displaced civilians or civilians on the battlefield).
I also got a great deal on a suit and some dress shirts. Get this...custom made, silk lined suit with trousers and vest plus 3 custom made shirts for $200 USD. The suit was $110, the vest $10, silk lining $10, and the shirts were $20 each. I don't think you can go to Wall Mart and buy a dress shirt for $20.
Nothing in Ali's shop is made until a customer orders it. He has 150 bolts of material on the shelves for shirts and 75 bolts for suits. Suit material varies from wool, wool/silk and, wool/cashmere. You go in, get measured, pick out fabrics, and fit a picture in one of his many catalogs for a suit style. The suit was ready a few days after I ordered it and fits/looks great.
Too bad Jodi is not here because he has a dress maker on this staff also.
Ramadan is in full swing but it has not really impacted me at all. We were told to wear long pants and long sleeve shirts has been about the extent of it. There are also heavy fines if you are stopped for eating or drinking in public during daylight hours. I never really saw many people eating or drinking in public anyways now that I think about it...maybe drinking coffee on the patio of a coffee shop.
Everyplace that serves food is closed between sun up and sun down also. There again, I don't go out to eat much so no impact on me. Sometimes if I am out and about on Sat I might stop somewhere for lunch but now big deal. All the nightclubs are closed for the month and I think that the places that would normally serve alcohol don't serve it during Ramadan.
If you observe Ramadan, I don't think you are even suppose to swallow your our saliva so you see people spitting a lot more.
That's about it from here. It is hot as hell here. At 115 degrees, it is even hotter the Djibouti would typically get.
Michael
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
An early Christmas gift...
Hello Everyone,
As you know, I have been on the road this past week and returned late Saturday night.
My early Christmas gift was getting to see my 8 year old daughter for 5 1/2 hours on Saturday afternoon as I passed through Dulles International Airport outside of D.C. It was a wonderful feeling to be able to kiss , hug, and hold her again. It is really impossible to describe...
Sarah has spent the last week with her Aunt and Uncle, who live in Northern Virginia, and is off to see Jodi and Chase in North Carolina today for a week long stay. I know she is very excited to see Chase. They get along so well and seem connected the way a brother and sister would be.
As an added bonus, I also got to visit with relatives Thursday night and bought some nice hand rolled in Tampa cigars.
As for my trip, it was great to be in Tampa but is a big investment in time to get there as I spent almost 30 hours sitting on a plane or in an airport. On my return trip, I was routed through Amsterdam and I have never been there.
I went to Tampa for an exercise planning conference for an exercise which will take place in Egypt in Sept 2013. We accomplished much more then I expected and have a good foundation to build on. Bright Star has been an annual exercise in Egypt ever since I have been in the Marine Corps but it was not held last year because of the revolution. I have never been to Cairo but will go there this upcoming Oct to continue the planning effort.
Ramadan is in full swing here but I haven't been in town to notice any big changes other then traffic was horrible last night as I was returning from the airport. This is actually the first week of Ramadan so I think a lot of people were celebrating the "breaking of the fast" by going out for dinner late at night and just taking to the streets.
Well, back to the boring life of a staff officer...
Cheers,
Michael
As you know, I have been on the road this past week and returned late Saturday night.
My early Christmas gift was getting to see my 8 year old daughter for 5 1/2 hours on Saturday afternoon as I passed through Dulles International Airport outside of D.C. It was a wonderful feeling to be able to kiss , hug, and hold her again. It is really impossible to describe...
Sarah has spent the last week with her Aunt and Uncle, who live in Northern Virginia, and is off to see Jodi and Chase in North Carolina today for a week long stay. I know she is very excited to see Chase. They get along so well and seem connected the way a brother and sister would be.
As an added bonus, I also got to visit with relatives Thursday night and bought some nice hand rolled in Tampa cigars.
As for my trip, it was great to be in Tampa but is a big investment in time to get there as I spent almost 30 hours sitting on a plane or in an airport. On my return trip, I was routed through Amsterdam and I have never been there.
I went to Tampa for an exercise planning conference for an exercise which will take place in Egypt in Sept 2013. We accomplished much more then I expected and have a good foundation to build on. Bright Star has been an annual exercise in Egypt ever since I have been in the Marine Corps but it was not held last year because of the revolution. I have never been to Cairo but will go there this upcoming Oct to continue the planning effort.
Ramadan is in full swing here but I haven't been in town to notice any big changes other then traffic was horrible last night as I was returning from the airport. This is actually the first week of Ramadan so I think a lot of people were celebrating the "breaking of the fast" by going out for dinner late at night and just taking to the streets.
Well, back to the boring life of a staff officer...
Cheers,
Michael
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Pack your bags, Pinky. We are hitting the road.
Hello All,
Packing my bags and getting ready to travel to Tampa. Will leave in about 6 hours for my 1:40 am flight.
Pinky, by the way, is a little stuffed pink elephant Sarah made and gave to me to keep me company on my deployment. I take Pinky to all the exciting places I go. Needless to say, she will be traveling to the US with me.
Looking forward to being back in the US but dreading the -7 hour time change. Midnight on the East Coast is 7 am here in Bahrain. By the time my body gets adjusted, it will be time to return to the Middle East.
Sarah is starting a two week trip to the East Coast today also. She will spend a week in N. Va. with her Aunt/Uncle/cousins and then down to NC for a week with Jodi and Chase. Her Aunt lives 15 minutes away from Dulles Int Airport and I am trying to get my flight back to Bahrain rerouted through there. That means I would get to see Sarah. Wouldn't that be something!
Being in the Middle East is starting to wear me down already. The Arabs are awful drivers and the Indian and Pakistan workers do whatever they want on the roads, rarely stopping at stop signs. They are really starting to piss me off. Additionally, I can't understand much of what they say even though they are speaking English. I swore I would never buy another Dell computer when they moved their call center to India for that very reason.
There are 5 construction sites that I can see from my balcony. I am not sure who is going to live in all these apartments they are building. Jodi always complained about the construction hours in our sub-division which begins at 7 am during the week. Out here construction starts every day at 5 - 5:30 am making sleeping past then a little challenging.
I also hate when US ships make port calls here, as is the case this weekend. I am sure it is great for those on the ship but sucks for those of us who live here. There are long lines in all the places there are not normally lines and throngs of people everywhere. These port calls also unleash a special kind of stupid amongst a certain percentage of those coming ashore. Excessive drinking and bad behavior out in town create problems that those who live here are tasked with fixing, especially repairing the damaged public's perception of US service people.
As I had mentioned previously, the living conditions here are great compared to Djibouti but there are a lot of things I miss about Djibouti, believe it or not.
Ramadan starts the day I return from the US. I was in the PX today and they had several racks of "Ramadan approved clothing" (had a placard that said so). For 30 days starting 20 Jul, no shorts for anyone, knees of women must be covered as well as shoulders. You can also be stopped by the police if you are seen eating or drinking in public during daylight hours and be given a ticket with the fine due on the spot. I think it is the equivalent of $100 USD.
Anyone who wants to bad mouth living in the US needs to spend a few months in the Middle East especially women who are second class citizens here at best. Sorry ladies. You're not in Kansas any more.
Cheers,
Michael
Packing my bags and getting ready to travel to Tampa. Will leave in about 6 hours for my 1:40 am flight.
Pinky, by the way, is a little stuffed pink elephant Sarah made and gave to me to keep me company on my deployment. I take Pinky to all the exciting places I go. Needless to say, she will be traveling to the US with me.
Looking forward to being back in the US but dreading the -7 hour time change. Midnight on the East Coast is 7 am here in Bahrain. By the time my body gets adjusted, it will be time to return to the Middle East.
Sarah is starting a two week trip to the East Coast today also. She will spend a week in N. Va. with her Aunt/Uncle/cousins and then down to NC for a week with Jodi and Chase. Her Aunt lives 15 minutes away from Dulles Int Airport and I am trying to get my flight back to Bahrain rerouted through there. That means I would get to see Sarah. Wouldn't that be something!
Being in the Middle East is starting to wear me down already. The Arabs are awful drivers and the Indian and Pakistan workers do whatever they want on the roads, rarely stopping at stop signs. They are really starting to piss me off. Additionally, I can't understand much of what they say even though they are speaking English. I swore I would never buy another Dell computer when they moved their call center to India for that very reason.
There are 5 construction sites that I can see from my balcony. I am not sure who is going to live in all these apartments they are building. Jodi always complained about the construction hours in our sub-division which begins at 7 am during the week. Out here construction starts every day at 5 - 5:30 am making sleeping past then a little challenging.
I also hate when US ships make port calls here, as is the case this weekend. I am sure it is great for those on the ship but sucks for those of us who live here. There are long lines in all the places there are not normally lines and throngs of people everywhere. These port calls also unleash a special kind of stupid amongst a certain percentage of those coming ashore. Excessive drinking and bad behavior out in town create problems that those who live here are tasked with fixing, especially repairing the damaged public's perception of US service people.
As I had mentioned previously, the living conditions here are great compared to Djibouti but there are a lot of things I miss about Djibouti, believe it or not.
Ramadan starts the day I return from the US. I was in the PX today and they had several racks of "Ramadan approved clothing" (had a placard that said so). For 30 days starting 20 Jul, no shorts for anyone, knees of women must be covered as well as shoulders. You can also be stopped by the police if you are seen eating or drinking in public during daylight hours and be given a ticket with the fine due on the spot. I think it is the equivalent of $100 USD.
Anyone who wants to bad mouth living in the US needs to spend a few months in the Middle East especially women who are second class citizens here at best. Sorry ladies. You're not in Kansas any more.
Cheers,
Michael
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Sacked!
Hello Everyone,
It has been a pretty interesting week which was officially only one day long. We worked this past Sunday, had Mon/Tues/Wed off for 4th of Jul, and back on Thurs which is the last day of our work week.
We came in Thurs morning to find out that the Commanding General canned my boss, the director of plans and operations as well as the senior enlisted Marine (Operations Chief).
I had come to the conclusion after my first week in Bahrain that these two were trouble. My boss was a mean spirited vindictive bully and his Ops Chief, cloaked in our bosses authority, thought he could get away with anything and was untouchable.
The Ops Chief was on a plane back to Tampa within 24 hours pending an investigation surrounding the circumstances which got him in trouble. He got reported for doing something he has probably been getting away with for years and the institution has no tolerance for. I believe that my boss was relieved for creating the caustic work environment which continued to enable the Ops Chief to do this. That is all I will say about that.
Needless to say, the office went from a "keep your head down and don't make eye contact" to one of smiles and relief. I hope they both get what they deserve.
Additionally, we recently had our Deputy Commander report aboard, have a new Commanding General as of yesterday (the previous Commanding General has been here for 2 years and it was his normal time to rotate out), my shop will be getting a new boss soon, and we have a great Chief of Staff. Things are looking up.
I managed to get my trip to Oman rescheduled and don't expect any changes in my trip to Tampa which is scheduled for 15-20 Jul. I will see relatives while I am there and might even get to see my daughter, assuming I will have a layover in Dulles. Sarah is starting a 2 week adventure to the east coast and will be with her Aunt who lives 15 minutes from the airport. During her second week of travel, she will be headed south to spend some time with Jodi and Chase.
This past 4th of Jul was the second one that I have spent on foreign soil in the trailing 4 years. I can tell you that I certainly appreciate what the 4th of Jul means living in the Middle East. Many ideas outlined in the Declaration of Independence don't apply here.
Until next time,
Michael
It has been a pretty interesting week which was officially only one day long. We worked this past Sunday, had Mon/Tues/Wed off for 4th of Jul, and back on Thurs which is the last day of our work week.
We came in Thurs morning to find out that the Commanding General canned my boss, the director of plans and operations as well as the senior enlisted Marine (Operations Chief).
I had come to the conclusion after my first week in Bahrain that these two were trouble. My boss was a mean spirited vindictive bully and his Ops Chief, cloaked in our bosses authority, thought he could get away with anything and was untouchable.
The Ops Chief was on a plane back to Tampa within 24 hours pending an investigation surrounding the circumstances which got him in trouble. He got reported for doing something he has probably been getting away with for years and the institution has no tolerance for. I believe that my boss was relieved for creating the caustic work environment which continued to enable the Ops Chief to do this. That is all I will say about that.
Needless to say, the office went from a "keep your head down and don't make eye contact" to one of smiles and relief. I hope they both get what they deserve.
Additionally, we recently had our Deputy Commander report aboard, have a new Commanding General as of yesterday (the previous Commanding General has been here for 2 years and it was his normal time to rotate out), my shop will be getting a new boss soon, and we have a great Chief of Staff. Things are looking up.
I managed to get my trip to Oman rescheduled and don't expect any changes in my trip to Tampa which is scheduled for 15-20 Jul. I will see relatives while I am there and might even get to see my daughter, assuming I will have a layover in Dulles. Sarah is starting a 2 week adventure to the east coast and will be with her Aunt who lives 15 minutes from the airport. During her second week of travel, she will be headed south to spend some time with Jodi and Chase.
This past 4th of Jul was the second one that I have spent on foreign soil in the trailing 4 years. I can tell you that I certainly appreciate what the 4th of Jul means living in the Middle East. Many ideas outlined in the Declaration of Independence don't apply here.
Until next time,
Michael
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)